


Unity

by thisisapaige



Series: Thisisapaige's Suptober20 Collection [11]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Bonding Over Live Music, Castiel and Dean Winchester in Love, Families of Choice, Family Bonding, Feels, Fluff, Happy, I just really miss live music, M/M, Minor Kaia Nieves/Claire Novak, One Shot, Suptober 2020 (Supernatural), because they are ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:42:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26953813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisisapaige/pseuds/thisisapaige
Summary: (For Suptober20. Day 11 Prompt: Rock & Roll)⁂Dean loved concerts. He loved the thump, thump, thump, of a good drumbeat resonating through his body and shaking him to the core. He loved the flashing lights, the pyrotechnics, the raw, ragged emotion of a singer’s voice burrowing under his skin. He loved the crowd, the energy, the way that a single song could connect hundreds of strangers in a moment of unity. It made Dean feel like he belonged.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: Thisisapaige's Suptober20 Collection [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950343
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	Unity

Dean loved concerts. He loved the thump, thump, thump, of a good drumbeat resonating through his body and shaking him to the core. He loved the flashing lights, the pyrotechnics, the raw, ragged emotion of a singer’s voice burrowing under his skin. He loved the crowd, the energy, the way that a single song could connect hundreds of strangers in a moment of unity. It made Dean feel like he belonged.

There were few opportunities for Dean to indulge himself in his love of live, loud rock and roll. There was always something else, something more important, something that superseded his own personal pleasure: a hunt, lack of money, his dad needing a ride from the bar, Sammy. So, whenever Dean managed to acquire a ticket or sneak into a show, he lingered until the lights went up, determined to absorb every last bit of good feelings out of the night. 

When they got older, when dad no longer breathed down their necks, Dean and Sam could drive miles out of their way to see a band, just because they could. Sometimes, they found a hunt along the way and missed the show and, sometimes, their counterfeit tickets stopped them at the door. Sam always huffed at Dean, saying that they should have paid the extra money for real tickets, but Dean would always choose to save three bucks over spending more. Too many hungry nights as a kid taught him to pinch every penny. Sam never had to learn that lesson, thankfully, because Dean always made sure Sam was fed. 

The nights when Dean and Sam made it inside, made it into the pulsating heart of music, were some of Dean’s favourite memories. For those hours, all the brother’s worries about their lives, their jobs, the state of the world, melted away. There was nothing but the music.

That was why, when Dean heard about a show a few hours outside of Kansas and close to Sioux Falls, he insisted that they go. Sam was astonished that Dean was willing to go to some indie band he never heard about until that day. It was rock. Dean expected some roll. That was enough for him. 

For the first time, going to a concert was not just about two brothers casting their worries away. Now, it was about a family, a group of people who wanted to be together. It was about Cas, who seemed content to follow Dean wherever he could be happy. It was about Jack, who spent the days leading up to the show in a state of excitement about the chance to experience his first dose of live music. It was about Claire, who sent an eye-rolling emoji to Dean's invitation because she needed everyone to know she thought the band was lame before she jumped on the opportunity for free tickets. It was about Kaia because, if Clarie was going, so would she. It was about Alex, who finally had a free night from the hospital and was itching to get out of town. It was about the polite refusals from the rest of Dean’s list, promising to try again next time. Dean smiled at those because it meant that they believed in a future, in another chance, another day.

The band sucked. That was not surprising. It did not matter. 

Cas smiled when Claire grabbed Kaia with one hand and Jack with the other, pulling into the thick of the crowd. Alex stood at the sidelines, watching and laughing at Clarie’s attempts to teach the others how to dance. The next song, something fast and upbeat, inspired a bunch of wild, flailing movements from the trio and wide, happy smiles shining under the lights. Halfway through the song, Alex joined in. Now, she knew how to dance. Standing on the hard floors of the chosen venue with Cas on one side of him and Sam on the other, Dean felt that connection, that moment of unity, that sense of belonging.

A single song connected Dean to the whole, to his friends, to his family, to his home.

Dean wrapped one arm around Cas’s shoulders. Cas leaned into him, warm and comforting and solid, resting his hand on Dean’s back. They were close, growing closer every day, on a physical, mental, and emotional level. At that moment, Dean felt all of it, his heart pumping in time with the music’s beat. He wondered, he always wondered, if Cas’s heart beat the same. 

Dean wrapped the other arm around Sam. Sam rubbed the top of Dean’s head because Dean used to do that to Sam when they were younger, back when Sam was shorter than Dean. Dean let him have the payback. Sam smiled down at Dean and Dean let him because seeing his little brother happy was a balm for the soul. 

Dean stayed for the encore, stayed until the lights went up, not because he liked the music, but because he wanted this moment, the good feelings, the time with his family, etched upon his mind forever. When the group left the venue, shouting to hear each other over the ringing in their ears, Dean grabbed Cas’s hand. He squeezed it, intending to let it go, intending to add one more good memory to the night, even if it were quick. Cas squeezed Dean’s hand back. They did not let go of each other all the way to the car.

The group waited by the Impala. They exchanged glances, with high arched eyebrows and thin upward curved lips, but knew better than to say anything. After all, Dean was kind enough not to say anything when he saw Claire and Kaia practically fused at the hip the whole night.

Dean loved concerts. He loved the thump, thump, thump, of a good drumbeat, maybe even a bad one, resonating within his heart. He loved the flashing lights, the energy of the crowd, and the unity. He loved his family, the family to which he belonged.


End file.
